Guess what.... walnut trees like to kill tomato plants.

Clive, our tomato plant continues to look like it needs a good lie down, despite expert feeding and anti-dehydration measures.

It went berserk in July, chucking out tomatoes in all directions but is now just about managing enough to fill half a sandwich. As long as you don't want too much tomato in it.

Our investigative reporters and tomato fanciers have got on the case and come up with an amazing reason for Clive's health problems.

In the car park there are two walnut trees, right next to Clive's favourite spot. Guess what.... walnut trees like to kill tomato plants.

The trees entertain us because, just as the walnuts are ripening, the local squirrels run along the wall and start a mass harvest before humans can move in.

Now, when it is almost too late, we discover that walnut trees produce a toxic material called juglone that they drip onto nearby plants they dislike.

Sometimes they use their roots to send juglone through the soil as well. But mostly they use raindrops to spread their poison. Raindrops? Say no more – just look out the window.

It seems walnut trees also hate potatoes, peppers and aubergines as well, but put up with onions and carrots. We know not why. Mother Nature is seriously creepy.

The expert advice is to keep tomatoes at least 20 feet away from the murdering nuts. Clive has often been right underneath the 'dripline' of the killers.

No wonder it shows symptoms of walnut toxicity – stunted growth, yellowing and wilting of foliage. The outlook is grim, as juglone experts say susceptible plants die and 'nothing can be done to save juglone-damaged tomato plants'.

Watch this space because www.hounslowchronicle.co.uk doesn't give up that easily.....